"This place has really gone through hell."
The outskirts of the city, outside the walls, were busier than any place they had ever come across before. They were forced into pushing their way through the stream of people moving against or around them, their car abandoned far away.
Clothes hung from washing lines drawn across the streets, buildings yearning for another layer of paint as their walls peeled and rotted from dampness, and many people - too many - sat on the ground; homeless.
"We just gotta stay together." Thomas replied to Jorge, determined to get to the stone walls not too far off.
"We are the voice of the voiceless!" Suddenly a voice from behind came booming through the streets. "They hide behind their walls, thinking they can keep the cure for themselves, while they watch the rest of us wither and rot!"
Cheers echoed around them, and Florence stopped her friends in their tracks to turn back in curiosity. Cruising down the road was a car, on which several men sat, looking down at those around.
The one at the front, with the microphone, was snarling as he spoke to the crowds; bright gleaming face on display. But the others sat with him, clad with guns, wore strange gas-masks over their faces with a red translucent layer hazing their eyes and identities from the view of any onlookers.
"But there are more of us than there are of them. And I say, we rise up and take back what is ours! Let's bring back a victory!"
A rebellion...
The group was forced to move out of the way of the car as it passed, one of the guards keeping their focus firmly on them all for a while after passing. For a suspicious while.
Jorge urged them all forwards, smart enough to realise that the car-led rebellion would take them right to the wall of the inner city. They were led through a burnt and abandoned train station, with the old rusted train lines running right up to the walls guarding the inner city.
Florence felt nausea sweep over her. Seeing the grey walls reminded her so strongly of the Glade and the Maze. And like the walls in the Maze, these walls were a prison for the people living outside the main city.
They were restricted, powerless, weak.
"That's our way in." Her brother called to her over the sound of the riots.
The people on the outside of the walls were angry; and rightly so. They were being neglected, taken advantage of, mistreated. Florence couldn't say she was surprised, after all, it's WCKD.
The crowds were yelling obscenities, chanting together, holding up their signs. All of it seemed to no prevail. Florence couldn't see anyone at the walls, or any response to it all.
"Thomas! This is not what you're looking for. All these people trying to find their way in, you think you're gonna find something they can't?" Jorge challenged, as they began to shove their way through the crowds towards the walls.
The group separated a little, Florence finding herself with her brother and Jorge whilst the others slipped from her sight.
"Came this far. I'm not turning back now." The boy swiftly replied, only moving forwards further.
Florence caught eyes with Jorge, the man giving her a hopeless glance. She shrugged exaggeratedly, before turning and following Thomas through the crowds.
The boy was parting the way with ease, and despite the anger of the protesters directed at the stone walls and the peaceful city behind them, the people moved to let them through. They stopped at the barricades, still a long stretch ahead of them before the stone wall.
Why is no one getting any closer?
"Thomas, this doesn't feel right." Jorge yelled to the boy, and Florence was beginning to feel the same.
She had a bad feeling about the wall and the eerie quiet from the other side of it. She had a bad feeling about the fact they were a hundred feet away from it. She had a bad feeling about everything.
Her eyes drew from the wall to the signs closer to them, that read 'Deadly Force Authorised Beyond This Point'. She suddenly felt a lot safer at the distance she was.
That's why no one's getting closer.
"Hey, guys," Newt sounded panicked as he reached the three of them along with Frypan and Brenda. He placed his arm around Thomas' shoulder and glanced back in the crowds. "We gotta go now. Look."
Following Newt's focus, Florence found the masked guards from the car pushing their way through the crowds in an attempt to reach them. She felt her stomach drop.
Why are they going after us?
Before they could retreat back into the crowds in a bid to escape, a metallic creaking sounded from the wall behind them. Everyone silenced; Florence could guess nothing like this had ever happened before.
They all froze, eyes focused on the walls, waiting to see what was going to happen. It was all still; just for a moment.
And then, an electronic whirring seemed to startle the crowds, and it only took a second for everything to descend into chaos. Florence spotted what scared everyone, and came to realise it was for good reason.
They were going to start firing at the rioters; firing bombs.
Screams and shouts of fear rang through the girl's ears but she found herself frozen to the spot in shock as she continued to stare up at the stone wall. Everyone began to disperse - including the masked guards - desperate to get away from the walls and the inevitable line of fire ready to be directed at them.
"Florence, let's go!" Jorge yelled out, the girl in turn realising everyone else had sprung into action.
And then the first bomb hit.
It wasn't close to them, but close enough to make the ground tremble beneath their feet and send shock waves through their bodies. But there was no moment after it hit where they could gain relief.
Because WCKD had fired another. And then another. And another.
Alongside her friends, Florence began sprinting back towards the broken ruins of the train station, yearning for an escape from the line of fire. Every time her feet hit the ground, taking her further away from the walls, the bombs only hit closer and closer.
Not that she could see from where she was, but people behind her - slower, innocent runners - were being thrown into the air and onto the ground; dead. They were being slaughtered ruthlessly by WCKD, and for what reason? How was this helping them get a cure?
The bombs were now hitting all around them, the group narrowly avoiding running into the death traps practically tracing their every move. As they reached the back of the train station, Frypan swerved away from the straight path they were taking and headed towards an door-less doorway that stretched into an alleyway.
"Come on! Get in! Get in!" He called for the rest of them desperately.
"Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!"
Jorge's fearful tone would always be engrained in Florence's mind, she decided. And it was a good thing if she was truly honest, since nothing was more motivating than his usual nonchalant tone suddenly sounding quite frightened.
If Jorge was scared, you know the situation is bad.
Darting down the alleyway, the group fled the line of fire, and only just escaped a bomb that exploded moments after they left the street, in the exact place they were seconds ago. They didn't stop running, not that they knew where they were going, but that thought was quickly stolen from Florence.
Newt was grabbed by one of the masked figures.
As Newt was immediately taken by surprise, it was easy for them to push him into the back of a parked white van. Florence skidded to a stop, giving another masked figure - the one from earlier who had been staring at them - the opportunity to grab her.
Instinctively, she tried to fight against their grip on her, but they were insanely stronger. She briefly thought that the hands that grabbed her felt familiar, but couldn't quite put her finger on why. And then the guard dragged her towards another van and into the back of it.
The door slid shut, sending them into darkness. As her eyes adjusted, Florence straightened up and scooted back so she was sat as far away from the three guards in front of them as possible.
She was sat with Thomas and Brenda. None of them knew what to say. The guards simply just stared at them, and they stared back. Until,
"Where are you taking us?" She demanded, trying to seem firm, but her voice was shaking.
In return, silence.
"Hello?" She spoke louder and her voice was colder, her eyes burning into the guard sat directly opposite her.
This still didn't earn her a reply. And so she leant her head against the wall of the van, slipping her hand into Brenda's to comfort the girl and to be comforted herself.
The journey was short, maybe ten minutes long, and Florence felt herself growing more and more nauseous with the number of sharp turns the van was taking. It didn't help that she couldn't see where they were going. Eventually, they began to slow, and the back of the van that they were previously leaning against was opened up.
"Get out." The voice was firm, but they didn't shout, so although Florence was disgruntled, she obeyed.
She glanced around, noticing they were in what used to be part of a highway road heading upwards. It had now become a sort of community. Dozens of people were around; hanging out their clothes, eating food, watching them.
Another van pulled up, angry indistinct voices emerging from it. The back doors were opened from the inside, and a figure fell out onto the floor. After them, Jorge leapt out, hovering over them threateningly.
"Where is she, you son of a bitch?"
It was clear he was talking about Brenda.
He landed a punch on the guard's face. That was what turned everything into chaos. As Thomas and Brenda rushed forwards to pull Jorge from the guard unlucky to have been stuck with him, more guards rushed forwards to take a hold of them all.
Florence let her shoulder be steered away from her friends, gently pushing against the force just so she could see the others. Newt was shoved up against the van, hands up defensively, and Thomas was restrained by two guards.
Brenda was by Jorge's side, her hand on his shoulder as she exclaimed, "I'm right here, I'm right here!"
Jorge moved away from the already battered guard, pulling Brenda into a hug. As the guard with a hold on Florence tightened their grip, she felt angered enough to pull herself away completely, death glaring them as a warning not to do it again.
"Everybody relax. We're all on the same side here." The guard that had captured Florence initially spoke, and then it all clicked into place.
Florence wondered why the boys didn't recognise his voice as quickly as she did, but instead of taking a second to explain who it was, she was overwhelmed with shock and disbelief that he was alive.
How?
"Holy shit." was all she could bring herself to say as she stared at the masked figure.
He looked back at her, fingers fumbling on his gun, almost dropping it. Clearing his throat, his eyes dropped to the floor, his hand hanging for a second, almost like he was ashamed.
I have so many questions.
It didn't make any sense to her, but she knew it was him. And she knew what would happen when the others figured it out. Well, when Thomas figured it out.
Thomas, clearly agitated, wrestled his way away from the soldier with a grip on him, "What do you mean same side? Who the hell are you?"
The masked figure sighed deeply and Florence felt her stomach flipping anxiously as they lifted their hands to their mask and pulled it from their face. Just like she thought, the boy was revealed to be their dear old friend.
Gally.
His hair was buzz cut now, and his features looked somewhat more defined and mature. He also looked terrified currently.
Obviously, Thomas wasn't the biggest fan of Gally, and right now, he looked absolutely mortified at the return of him. But was anyone really surprised? He was always very vocal about his dislike for the boy.
Gally took the risk of glancing to Thomas, greeting him with a word none of the Gladers had heard in a while.
"Hey Greenie."